TABLE OF CONTENTS Throughout this exam guide, we ve talked about the fundamentals of network protocols and network operating systems. In this chapter, we ll bring together that knowledge to help you in troubleshooting any errors or problems that occur on your network. We ll begin by talking about the overall methodology that you ll use to troubleshoot a network. This begins with gathering information about a problem to try to determine its cause. You ll then use your understanding of networking concepts, as well as your knowledge of how your particular network is configured, to isolate the point where the problem is occurring. By eliminating points of failure in a systematic fashion, you can eliminate trouble spots, one by one, until you ve located the cause of the problem. Maintaining accurate documentation of the physical layout of your network is essential for this process, as is having a firm grasp of the layers of the OSI (Open Systems Interconnect) model and the devices that operate at the various layers.
To help you in troubleshooting your network, there are many software utilities for both the Windows and Linux operating systems that will help you pinpoint the exact nature of a failure. You ll start with tools that will test basic network connectivity to determine if two computers can communicate with each other in any way. You can then move onto more detailed tools that will show you every detail about the path that a network packet takes...
